About the book: 2004 / “A Soldier is Always a Soldier” is the most famous novel by the English writer Ford Madox Ford (1873–1939), whose works enjoy wide and well-deserved popularity in his homeland and certainly belonging to the notable phenomena of European culture of the 20th century, remained until now unknown to Russian readers. There will never be many more like Ford. People like Ford are always a rarity. Most of us fellow writers have too much clutter in our heads that prevents us from seeing things clearly. Often we write for profit, fame or money. ...many of us simply lack the moral fortitude that is inseparable from the difficult fate of a writer. Ford had no shortage of endurance. He clearly understood what a person chooses when deciding to become a writer... Ford is a real aristocrat. A professional writer who did not stain himself with a word, a true master, he always stood firm, knew how to distinguish the truly significant from the false, petty... Ford Madox Ford is a rich man. Secretly, we all wish we could be that rich. His wealth is good work and self-respect... Sherwood Andersen After Henry James, he is the most powerful novelist today, and in his skill, he probably has no equal. The world, alas, is too busy with the cockfight of communism and fascism to listen to the philosophy of this English Tory. But in vain - Ford is equally disgusted by the policy of conservatives and any other doctrine. Graham Greene Most of all, the word “breadth” is applicable to Ford. He liked to repeat: genius is a brilliant memory. He himself had an immense memory. No one admired the older generation of writers as much or discovered as many young talents as he did. And to the end he remained an irrepressible enthusiast and seeker. He was fanatically, to the death of his life, devoted to art: only the English can do this - recklessly, cheerfully. It seemed that his heart was cramped in his chest: everything in him was bulging outward - fortitude, breadth, generosity. Robert Lowell